Asia Cup 2022: EXPLAINED! How India might take on Pakistan thrice in mega event

The Asia Cup 2022 edition is about to kick off on August 27 (Saturday). Undoubtedly, the hype regarding the forthcoming tournament is very high given that two Asian giants India and Pakistan are set to lock horns with each other in their respective tournament-openers on August 28, at the iconic Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai.

The rivalry between the two senior teams will resume once again, following their last face-off in the 2021 T20 World Cup. Interestingly, the last clash between both sides also took place at the same venue, in Dubai, where Babar Azam & Co. demolished India by ten wickets to break their World Cup jinx versus their neighbouring country. Given the Asia Cup is being held in the shortest format as a dress rehearsal for the 2022 T20 World Cup, to be held in Australia from October-November, Rohit Sharma-led India and the Men in Green will leave no stone unturned to emerge on top in the Asian championship.

While India and Pakistan are placed in the same group (Pool A), they will meet on August 28. However, there's a catch. For the unversed, cricket fans are in for a treat as the two heavyweights are likely to meet each other as many as three times overall in the 2022 edition.

As India and Pakistan are expected to run past the other qualifying team -- who will join them in Pool A -- and enter the Super 4, they are likely to be pitted against each other on September 4 (Sunday). As Rohit-led Men in Blue and Pakistan are two of the strongest teams and, thus, they are expected to top the Super 4 and face-off in the tournament finale as well, i.e. on September 11.

Having said that, one cannot write off competitive and ever-improving teams such as Afghanistan, Shakib Al Hasan-led Bangladesh and Dasun Shanaka's Sri Lanka. If a lot of upsets take place, the finalists can appear to be different than the ones many expect at this point.

India and Pakistan have never played in the Asia Cup final so far. Will the script change this time around? Only time will tell...